Blame It On Vanity

I have loved this woman since I was a kid and to have the privilege of speaking with her on the phone was the best life changing moment in my life. But that only topples my signed copy of her autobiography. That is my pride and joy. I cried the day it came in the mail and I opened it and she had personally signed it. You will never know how much this book means to me. The moment that book arrived, I had to read it. I started reading and I couldn’t put it down. I cried, laughed, cursed, prayed, praised and thought, WOW! This woman has really been through it, you never truly knows what demons people are fighting on a daily basis.
I’ve seen my own demons and trying to fighting them on your own is a big no no…you need help that no man can give. I’m so happy that she found Christ and turned her life over the Lord. Her story is a testament to the power of our Holy Father. Denise, I’m your biggest fan and I love you more for your realness and honesty. Thank you for being you.

Denise Katrina Matthews is her birth name, I remember her as the sultry lead singer of the girl group Vanity 6, along with Susan Moonsie and Brenda Bennett. They hit the airwaves with the sexy smash; Nasty Girl. Man, I was hooked from that point. But I also know her by another name she went by when she was a model and actress (D.D. Winters).

She did a few films under that name. One of my favorite’s which is a real cult classic favorite among her fans… Tanya’s Island.I personally own that dvd. Maybe I’ll ask her to sign it one day. She was young and fresh faced, you can see that she had something special, different and unique; her timeless unique beauty is and will be unmatched. I can see why Prince loved her.

Vanity went solo and released her solo smash hit Pretty Mess from her debut solo album Wild Animal. Child, I remember I begged my mother to buy me that cd for months, and as a SHUT-YO-DAMN-MOUTH! I got it! I fell in love with the whole album. Her lyrics were very sexual not as much as they were with Vanity 6. No matter I still bumped it and tried to be her. She then later came out with her second and final album 😦 Skin on Skinwhich I truly believe is her BEST album. It shows a completely different side to Vanity and she wrote all the lyrics. A lot of people slept on this album, which was her best body of work. The video and single Under The Influence from the Skin on Skinalbum was in the top 100 billboard chart. My favorite songs are…Under the influence, Manhunt, Romantic Voyage & of course the title track Skin on Skin. Her style was fierce, sexy, classy, demure, sophisticated, glamorous, old Hollywood. Before there was ever a Beyoncé, Kim K, Rihanna, there was VANITY the GRAND DAME herself. Anytime she enters a room and she owned it.

After Skin on Skin, Denise spent over the next decades continued her work in film and television — usually keeping well inside the bounds of the action/thriller genre with which she had now become associated. Appearances in Deadly Illusion (1987), Action Jackson (1988), South Beach (1992), Neon City (1992) and Da Vinci’s War(1993) maintained her presence on the big screen, supplemented by roles in the television movies Memories of Murder (1990) and Lady Boss (1992) and series such as Miami Vice, Mike Hammer, Tales from the Crypt, Silk Stockings, Friday the 13th the series and Highlander. Over the years Denise’s extensive drug abuse had taken a serious toll on her health (causing damage to her liver, eyesight and hearing, and eventually resulting in a heart attack), and following her involvement in the low-budget thriller Kiss of Death in 1995 she announced that she had been born again and was formally renouncing the hedonistic lifestyle of her past which is Vanity. All ties with the entertainment industry were abandoned, and the former “Vanity” subsequently established her own evangelical ministry.

Her book Blame It On Vanity Hollywood, Hell & Heaven will make you laugh, cry, praise, and rejoice. Denise takes you on a journey into her humble beginnings, and walking you through the most intimate moments of her life. I couldn’t put the book down, I was riveted by it…with a lot of …WOW! OMG! moments and to think that the woman that I have admired since my childhood was broken, abused and unloved. I never would have thought she was going through the things she went through.
God is alive and very real, to raise her from what was to be her death bed, she’s here to tell her story and give you her testimony that God is real and so is the devil. She danced with the devil, to only sing god’s praises. Blessings comes to those who are open to receive his grace, love, and mercy.
I love her for being transparent and honest. Who really can tell your story better than you. I love Denise more now as the woman who God has called her to be. I love Vanity as well, for she embodied empowerment for women. Not to be afraid your sexuality and embrace your femininity and love yourself. I don’t think Vanity was all bad, she had her moments, but I guess it’s the demons we don’t see that can fool you.
This blog was approved by Ms. Matthews herself and that truly means a lot to me. With a heavy heart I’m sadden to say that on February 15, 2016, The artist formerly known as Vanity…Denise Katrina Matthews passed away from liver failure. I’m very honored to have her in my life for the time she was here and to call her friend and be called a friend in return.
Denise, will be sadly missed very much. God has called his angel home, no more hurt or pain. I love you my friend, Denise🌹

“Prior to finding my Lord and Savior I lived in the bottomless pit playground of Hollywood deceit. Lifting me higher and dropping me like a steel beam, Lust, Rock n’ Roll accompanied with drug use, lifted me higher and dropped me like a steel beam.” Sinking down into deep depression I camouflaged my pain with even more makeup and a fake smile”.

“With the devil breathing down my neck, trying desperately to snatch and strangle me for hell, I repented. Yes one sweet day my Jesus reached down with his long extended love and pulled my wretched body up from the darkness. Him only do I seek with a tremendous blast of fiery passion. I live, move, breath, love and have my being in Jesus The Christ. Enslaved to His truth” ~Denise Matthews